Story by Sgt. Matthew Prince
July 23, 2010
The 671st Engineer Detachment beat the sun out of bed on July 21st to engage in Operation River Assault 2010, the largest exercise in unit history.
 |
| Soldiers from the 671st Engineer Detachment guide vehicles to the river bank and unload bridge pieces during Operation River Assault at Ft. Chaffee, Ark. |
The engineers traveled from Portland, OR and teamed up with the 341st Engineer Company at Fort Chaffee, Ark., to build one-half of a 325-meter improved ribbon bridge (IRB) across the Arkansas River.
Trucks delivered bridge pieces to the river shore while Chinooks sling loaded bridge pieces into the river itself, allowing the soldiers the opportunity to practice building bridges under pressure.
“This is a big deal,” said Cpl. William Uerling, a boat operator with the 671st. “This will be a highlight of our careers.”
Uerling, a combat veteran, has been with the unit three years.
To succeed, Soldiers had to connect two bridge halves and move assault vehicles across the river. With temperatures reaching nearly 120 degrees, the size and scope of the task was not the only obstacle they faced. The 671st, however, met the challenge ahead of schedule without a single heat injury.
Sgt. 1st Class Paul Bickmore, detachment first sergeant, said property boundaries are among the problems that engineer companies face when choosing training sites. A project like this requires permission to use both sides of a river, making Fort Chaffee ideal because it owns both sides of the Arkansas.
This mission was not the success of senior enlisted leaders and officers, however. It was the 671st junior leadership and Soldiers who rose to the occasion. Senior leadership was relegated to the role of observers, judging the progress and performance of the mission.
“This is all about the junior noncommissioned officers and the senior specialists,” said Bickmore. “Giving them a chance to step into the leadership roles...the overall performance of the Soldier is what most impressed me.”
